Stable isotopic assessment of site fidelity of mummichogs, Fundulus heteroclitus, exposed to multiple anthropogenic inputs

• Published in: Environmental biology of fishes 2012-08, Vol.94 (4), p.695-706
• Main Authors: Skinner, Marc A., Courtenay, Simon C., Parker, W. Roy, Curry, R. Allen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Applied sciences; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brackish; Environment; Estuaries; Exact sciences and technology; Fish; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundulus heteroclitus; Isotopes; Life Sciences; Marine; Marine biology; Municipal wastewater; Nature Conservation; Pollution; Site fidelity; Vertebrata; Wastewater treatment; Wastewaters; Water treatment; Water treatment and pollution; Water treatment plants; Zoology
• ISSN: 0378-1909; 1573-5133
• DOI: 10.1007/s10641-012-0002-9

The goals of the study were: (1) to evaluate stable isotopic analysis (SIA) in determining the site fidelity of mummichogs, Fundulus heteroclitus , along a smaller spatial scale (~10 km) in homogenous habitat type relative to previous SIA studies; and (2) to cross-validate SIA results with mark-recapture results from a study conducted concurrently at the same sites in the upper Miramichi River estuary (MRE), New Brunswick, Canada influenced by two pulp mills and three municipal wastewater facilities. Mummichogs sampled at 9 sites along the upper MRE ( n  = 198) had overall mean (± SD) ratios of −21.03 ± 1.45 ‰ δ 13 C and 11.37 ± 1.02 ‰ δ 15 N. Mean δ 13 C and δ 15 N ratios were significantly different among sites with mean δ 13 C increasing in a downstream direction and distinct δ 15 N group signatures along the northern and southern shores. Multivariate analyses detected seven distinct groups out of nine sites sampled and these differences appear to be related to wastewater treatment influences, thus demonstrating the utility of SIA as a method to determine the site-specificity of organisms on a relatively small spatial scale within homogenous habitat within an estuary. These results, in addition to the scarcity of statistical outliers (3 %) during examination of isotopic ratios within sites support the results of a previous mark-recapture study that demonstrated very few mummichogs (3.4 %) in the upper MRE move more than 200 m.